Fiddle band Brok'n Pic returning to Ellwood City Community Plaza

Wednesday

ELLWOOD CITY — In a preview of their return to the Ellwood City Arts, Crafts and Food Festival later this month, the twin-fiddle band Brok'n Pic will perform Saturday in the borough's community plaza.

George Fenechi of Ellwood City, the general manager, fiddle player and guitar picker, said they are thrilled to be back in the plaza.

"When we played here in 2016, Gary Fox, with the plaza entertainment, told me that our band played to the largest crowd they had ever had. I remember they had to close Lawrence Avenue because people were sitting in the street. I hope we can do that again," he said.

"We will be playing crowd favorites, including the old-time fiddle tune 'Old Joe Clark,'" Fenechi said. "It's the fiddles that make us stand out; people from a 90-year-old man to young kids tell us they love the fiddles.

"The best part about playing in Ellwood City is seeing all our friends and family, seeing people of all ages and being with so many people we know. It’s the place where everyone can come and enjoy the music," he said.

The other members of the group, which plays bluegrass, country and Southern rock, are brothers Ron Boy of Boyers and Tom Boy of New Castle; and Lee Syrjanen, Chris Buhler and Kevin Travaglio, all from the Slippery Rock area.

Fenechi and the Boy brothers grew up together. "Their father, Danny Boy, was a very popular fiddle player and played at Duffy's Tavern in Fombell. When he was teaching Ron to play, I just hung around and learned, too," Fenechi said.

Brok'n Pic is part of the Ellwood City arts festival history. They were the first band to play at the first festival in 1980 when they performed on the back of a flatbed truck on the basketball courts. They will be playing again on stage at the festival that opens on June 29 in Ewing Park.

In the 1980s, the band was playing to packed audiences and opened for David Allen Coe and Lee Greenwood, and numerous times for the Marshall Tucker Band. They also opened several times for The Outlaws, including at Jergel's Rhythm Grille in Marshall Township.

In 1997, they stopped playing. Fenechi said that when they started playing no one was married and no one had children, but as time went on they had family responsibilities and decided to take a break.

They got back together in 2011 just to do a one-time show at the Wurtemburg-Perry Volunteer Fire Department hall. Fans had not forgotten them. Within 10 minutes, the 550 tickets were sold, so they added another night and again it was sold out.

"We were amazed that people remembered us and wanted to hear us play again," Fenechi said. "We had hardly seen each other since we quit playing, so we had to practice hard. We didn't want to embarrass ourselves in public."

With so much fan support, they decided to play publicly once a month, but they have been playing much more often than that.

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